Best Party Ever Costs Parents $20,000

‘Best party ever’ costs parents $20,000 / 16th January, 2008

______

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‘Best party ever’ costs parents $20,000

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The Article / 2
Warm-ups / 3
Before Reading / Listening / 4
While Reading / Listening / 5
Listening Gap Fill / 6
After Reading / Listening / 7
Student Survey / 8
Discussion / 9
Language Work / 10
Writing / 11
Homework / 12
Answers / 13

16th January, 2008

THE ARTICLE

The parents of an Australian teenager may have a $20,000 bill to pay for damages caused at a party held by their son. Corey Delaney, 16, decided to throw a party in his house on Saturday night while his parents were on vacation. He posted an open invitation on the MySpace website, which resulted in 500 teenagers showing up at his Melbourne home. The youths got drunk and started damaging neighbouring properties. After complaints from neighbours, 30 police officers, police dogs and a backup helicopter went to break up the party. The young partygoers threw rocks and stones at the police and their cars. The state police commissioner Christine Nixon told a news conference that Corey "needs to learn a lesson, and one way or another we’ll be making sure that happens."
Corey seemed proud of his party when reporters interviewed him. Australia’s Nine Network TV news asked him what advice he had for other teenagers planning a party. His reply was: "Get me to do it for you!” He added that he had organized the "best party ever." Corey explained how the party grew to be so big: "It was just an open house party and a lot of people came and it overflowed onto the street….The cops came and told all the people to quiet down….There were people bottling cars and the whole streets were flooded with people," he said. His parents were furious at their son's actions: "We're absolutely disgusted that he could do this, not only to us but to our neighbourhood," his mother said. Corey was apologetic towards his neighbours, saying: "It was really unfair what happened to them."

WARM-UPS

1. PARTIES:Walk around the class and talk to other students about parties. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your original partner(s) and share what you found out.

2. CHAT:In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

parents / bills / damages / teenagers / complaints / neighbours / police cars / being proud / advice / being furious / being disgusted / being apologetic

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. FURIOUS PARENTS: Talk with your partner(s) about these situations. Which have you experienced? Which would make your parents really angry?

a party while parents are away
crashing the family car
losing the family’s photo albums
being expelled from school

being caught stealing by the police
taking drugs and underage drinking
teen pregnancy
other ______

4. BEST PARTY EVER: Talk with your partner(s) about which of these things are needed for the best party ever. Change partners and share your ideas with others.

alcohol
DJ
over 100 people
food
games

party hats
costumes
people of all ages
10pm finish
other ______

5. SON:Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘son’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. QUICK ROLE PLAY:Student A strongly believes children should never, ever, ever disobey their parents; Student B strongly believes a little breaking the rules is OK. Change partners again and talk about your roles and conversations.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a. / Parents spent $20,000 on their son’s 16th birthday party. / T / F
b. / Parents were away on vacation when their son threw a party. / T / F
c. / The boy invited strangers using the MySpace website. / T / F
d. / Lots of people in the neighbourhood were delighted with the party. / T / F
e. / The boy thought his party was a great success. / T / F
f. / Teenagers at the party were hitting police cars with bottles. / T / F
g. / The boy’s parents were glad their son enjoyed his party. / T / F
h. / The boy felt sorry for his neighbours after the party. / T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1. / vacation / a. / appeared
2 / posted / b. / takes place
3. / youths / c. / shocked
4. / properties / d. / police
5. / happens / e. / placed
6. / seemed / f. / angry
7. / cops / g. / holiday
8. / furious / h. / homes
9. / disgusted / i. / sorry
10. / apologetic / j. / teenagers

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

1. / a $20,000 / a. / invitation
2 / decided to throw a / b. / towards his neighbours
3. / an open / c. / proud of his party
4. / break up / d. / party in his house
5. / Corey needs to learn / e. / overflowed onto the street
6. / Corey seemed / f. / bill to pay for damages
7. / Corey explained how the / g. / the party
8. / a lot of people came and it / h. / party grew to be so big
9. / His parents were furious / i. / a lesson
10. / Corey was apologetic / j. / at their son's actions

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL:Put the words into the gaps in the text.

The parents of an Australian teenager may have a $20,000 ______to pay for damages caused at a party ______by their son. Corey Delaney, 16, decided to ______a party in his house on Saturday night while his parents were on vacation. He posted an open invitation on the MySpace website, which ______in 500 teenagers showing up at his Melbourne home. The youths got drunk and started damaging neighbouring ______. After complaints from neighbours, 30 police officers, police dogs and a backup helicopter went to ______up the party. The young ______threw rocks and stones at the police and their cars. The state police commissioner Christine Nixon told a news conference that Corey "needs to learn a lesson, and one way or another we’ll be ______sure that happens." / properties
throw
partygoers
bill
resulted
making
held
break
Corey seemed ______of his party when reporters interviewed him. Australia’s Nine Network TV news asked him what advice he had for other teenagers planning a party. His ______was: "Get me to do it for you!” He added that he had organized the "best party ever." Corey explained how the party ______to be so big: "It was just an open house party and a lot of people came and it ______onto the street….The cops came and told all the people to quiet down….There were people bottling cars and the whole streets were ______with people," he said. His parents were ______at their son's actions: "We're ______disgusted that he could do this, not only to us but to our neighbourhood," his mother said. Corey was apologetic towards his neighbours, saying: "It was really ______what happened to them." / reply
absolutely
overflowed
flooded
proud
unfair
grew
furious

LISTENING: Listen and fill in the spaces.

The parents of an Australian teenager may have a $20,000 ______damages caused at a party ______. Corey Delaney, 16, decided to ______his house on Saturday night while his parents were on vacation. He posted an open invitation on the MySpace website, which resulted in 500 teenagers ______Melbourne home. The youths got drunk and started damaging neighbouring properties. After complaints from neighbours, 30 police officers, police dogs ______helicopter went to break up the party. The young partygoers threw rocks and stones at the police and their cars. The state police commissioner Christine Nixon told a news conference that Corey "needs ______, and one way or another ______that happens."

Corey seemed ______when reporters interviewed him. Australia’s Nine Network TV news asked him what advice ______teenagers planning a party. His reply was: "Get ______you!” He added that he had organized the "best party ever." Corey explained how the party grew to be so big: "It was ______party and a lot of people came and it overflowed onto the street….The cops came and told all the people to quiet down….There were people bottling cars and ______flooded with people," he said. His parents were furious at their son's actions: "We're absolutely disgusted that ______, not only to us but to our neighbourhood," his mother said. Corey was apologetic towards his neighbours, saying: "It was really ______to them."

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘bill’ and ‘pay’.

bill / pay

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER:Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

may
while
resulted
backup
rocks
making sure

seemed
advice
reply
whole
actions
unfair

STUDENT PARTY SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about parties in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

STUDENT 1
______/ STUDENT 2
______/ STUDENT 3
______
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a) / What did you think when you read the headline?
b) / What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘party’?
c) / Have you ever been to a party where things went wrong?
d) / Have you ever thrown a party?
e) / What kind of parties do you like?
f) / What do you think of Corey’s actions?
g) / Do you think his parents should pay the bill for damages?
h) / Do you think Corey and his family should move from their neighbourhood?
i) / What lesson do you think the Australian police need to teach Corey?

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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a) / Did you like reading this article?
b) / Would you be worried if you were in Corey’s shoes?
c) / What do you think of Corey’s reply to reporters?
d) / What would be the “best party ever” for you?
e) / What would you do if 500 strangers came to your party?
f) / What do you think Corey’s parents will say to him?
g) / What was the biggest thing you did to make your parents furious?
h) / What questions would you like to ask Corey and his parents?
i) / Did you like this discussion?

LANGUAGE

CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from a–d below in the article.

The parents of an Australian teenager may have a $20,000 (1) ____ to pay for damages caused at a party (2) ____ by their son. Corey Delaney, 16, decided to throw a party in his house on Saturday night while his parents were on vacation. He (3) ____ an open invitation on the MySpace website, which resulted in 500 teenagers showing (4) ____ at his Melbourne home. The youths got drunk and started damaging neighbouring properties. After complaints from neighbours, 30 police officers, police dogs and a backup helicopter went to break (5) ____ the party. The young partygoers threw rocks and stones at the police and their cars. The state police commissioner Christine Nixon told a news conference that Corey "needs to learn a lesson, and one way or another we’ll be (6) ____ sure that happens."

Corey seemed proud (7) ____ his party when reporters interviewed him. Australia’s Nine Network TV news asked him what advice he had (8) ____ other teenagers planning a party. His reply was: "Get me to do it for you!” He added that he had organized the "best party ever." Corey explained how the party grew to be so big: "It was just an open house party and a lot of people came and it (9) ____ onto the street….The cops came and told all the people to quiet down….There were people (10) ____ cars and the whole streets were flooded with people," he said. His parents were furious (11) ____ their son's actions: "We're absolutely disgusted that he could do this, not only to us but to our neighbourhood," his mother said. Corey was apologetic towards his neighbours, saying: "It was really (12) ____ what happened to them."

1. / (a) / bill / (b) / build / (c) / builder / (d) / billing
2. / (a) / holding / (b) / holder / (c) / hold / (d) / held
3. / (a) / posting / (b) / pasted / (c) / posted / (d) / pasting
4. / (a) / down / (b) / up / (c) / across / (d) / around
5. / (a) / across / (b) / around / (c) / down / (d) / up
6. / (a) / making / (b) / made / (c) / make / (d) / makes
7. / (a) / by / (b) / for / (c) / of / (d) / as
8. / (a) / with / (b) / for / (c) / by / (d) / of
9. / (a) / flew / (b) / overflowing / (c) / overflowed / (d) / over
10. / (a) / bottles / (b) / bottle / (c) / bottled / (d) / bottling
11. / (a) / by / (b) / at / (c) / for / (d) / to
12. / (a) / unfair / (b) / fair / (c) / fare / (d) / fairer

WRITING:

Write about parties for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET:Search the Internet and find more information about parties that went wrong. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. BEST EVER PARTY: Make your own party invitation / poster. State why people should attend your party and why it’ll be the “best party ever”. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. NEIGHBOURS: Write a magazine article about the party and how it affected the neighbourhood. Include imaginary interviews with Corey, his parents and his neighbours.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down new words and expressions.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Corey. Ask him three questions about the party. Give them three suggestions on what he should do to repair relations with his parents and neighbours. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F / b. T / c. T / d. F / e. T / f. T / g. F / h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1. / vacation / a. / holiday
2 / posted / b. / placed
3. / youths / c. / teenagers
4. / properties / d. / homes
5. / happens / e. / takes place
6. / seemed / f. / appeared
7. / cops / g. / police
8. / furious / h. / angry
9. / disgusted / i. / shocked
10. / apologetic / j. / sorry

PHRASE MATCH:

1. / a $20,000 / a. / bill to pay for damages
2 / decided to throw a / b. / party in his house
3. / an open / c. / invitation
4. / break up / d. / the party
5. / Corey needs to learn / e. / a lesson
6. / Corey seemed / f. / proud of his party
7. / Corey explained how the / g. / party grew to be so big
8. / a lot of people came and it / h. / overflowed onto the street
9. / His parents were furious / i. / at their son's actions
10. / Corey was apologetic / j. / towards his neighbours

GAP FILL:

‘Best party ever’ costs parents $20,000

Corey seemed proud of his party when reporters interviewed him. Australia’s Nine Network TV news asked him what advice he had for other teenagers planning a party. His reply was: "Get me to do it for you!” He added that he had organized the "best party ever." Corey explained how the party grew to be so big: "It was just an open house party and a lot of people came and it overflowed onto the street….The cops came and told all the people to quiet down….There were people bottling cars and the whole streets were flooded with people," he said. His parents were furious at their son's actions: "We're absolutely disgusted that he could do this, not only to us but to our neighbourhood," his mother said. Corey was apologetic towards his neighbours, saying: "It was really unfair what happened to them."

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - a / 2 - d / 3 - c / 4 - b / 5 - d / 6 - a / 7 - c / 8 - b / 9 - c / 10 -d / 11 - b / 12 - a

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